Flacourtia inermis

Flacourtia inermis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Salicaceae
Genus:	Flacourtia
Species:	F. inermis
Binomial name
Flacourtia inermis (Burm. f.) Merr.

Flacourtia inermis, known commonly as lovi-lovi, or batoko plum, is a species of flowering plant native to the Philippines, but which has naturalized in tropical Asia and Africa.The common name of Flacourtia inermis in Indonesia, such as Tome-Tome (Ternate, North Maluku), Lovi-lovi, lobi-lobi.

Description

This is a medium-sized spineless tree that may grow up to 15 meters. The mature leaves are oblong and elliptic in shape and glossy on the upper side, with a toothed margin. They are about 8 to 20 centimeters long and 3 to 15 centimeters wide. The young leaves are bright orange to reddish in color, turning green as they mature.

The fruits are produced in bunches and resemble cherries. The fruit is round and shiny, turning from light green to a deep red colour upon ripening. Each fruit measures 1 to 3 centimeter in diameter. The flesh is crunchy but sour and acidic in taste. The fruits are edible but generally not eaten fresh but made as jams, preserves, and syrups. Its fruit is rich in an antimicrobial agent-2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

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Names

The Plant is known as Flacourtia inermis in Cebuano, Esperanto, Svenska and in Winaray. It is also known as 羅比梅 in Chinese, lobi-lobi in Indonesia, آلوی باتوکو in Persian, lovi (ලොවි) in Sinhala, சீமைக்கொட்டைக்களா in Tamil and ലോലൊലി(ക്ക)Malayalam.

Relatives

The family Salicaceae includes well-known species such as kei apple (Dovyalis caffra), paniala (F. jangomas), and rukam (F. rukam).

Notes